UCL team finds new ways to improve cervical cancer screening

The research, led by Dr Daniel Ndisang (UCL Institute of Child Health) and made possible by funding from the Association for International Research (AICR), could significantly reduce the death rate from the devastating disease. Cervical cancer accounts for about one in 10 female cancer deaths worldwide each year. It is the second most common female cancer in the world. Screening can prevent around 75% of cases in women in developed countries. The team found that a molecule called Brn-3a is present at high levels in both cervical cancer and pre-cancer lesions. These include the rarer types which are usually difficult to diagnose using the current screening procedures and therefore have lower survival rates. Brn-3a is known to switch on the molecule E6 which is found in the human papillomavirus (HPV), the main risk factor and a cause of cervical cancer.